Exxaro Resources and Sasol announced a prospecting joint-venture agreement for a new coal mine that would supply Sasol’s proposed 80,000-barrel-per-day Mafutha coal-to-liquids transportation fuels plant.

Korean automaker Hyundai is attempting to increase its market share in the United States by offering would-be purchasers $1.49 per gallon of gasoline for one year.

The July prices have been lower than June for the past two weeks, putting the market into a state of backwardation, but yesterday’s action erased some of the steepness of the curve.

The closing crude prices on both the NYMEX and Brent fell 1% yesterday, to $69.31/bbl and $68.79/bbl, respectively.

Gleaning the research notes from several investment firms and bond rating services, the economics are appearing to favor international integrated oil companies over U.S. domestic refiners.

Despite falling pump prices for gasoline and diesel, consumption of both fuels fell in March by 2.3% and 0.5% year-on-year, according to the California Board of Equalization.

Following the heels of China and Taiwan, the governments of India and Vietnam have also decided to raise retail fuel prices, citing the increase of crude to $70/bbl since the beginning of the year.

After receiving three requests urging it to do so, the Environmental Protection Agency reported yesterday it would extend thee comment period from the original July 27 deadline by 60 days to Sept. 25.

U.S. EPA is proposing a rule that would force ocean ships operating within U.S. coastal waters to switch to a maximum 1,000-ppm sulfur bunker fuel starting in 2015; the same rule also could abolish the current 500-ppm sulfur locomotive/marine diesel fuel.

A recent study issued by the American Petroleum Institute stated that a bill introduced last month in both the House and Senate calling for federal oversight of the hydraulic fracturing process used to develop resources in shale plays would severely hamper the U.S. economy.

Both BP North America and Valero have been penalized by state environmental protection agencies for alleged air pollution violations.

Since the countries of the Russia/CIS region have different approaches when it comes to regulating fuel quality and related policies, there is little cooperation between the nations. The International Fuel Quality Center discussed fuel quality and policy developments in these regions during a Webinar yesterday.